This compassionate and helpful book educates both the mind and heart in the power of addiction and the way to help others find healing. When a family member or friend is addicted to drugs or alcohol the situation can feel hopeless and confusing. In this book, David Stoop and Stephen Arterburn help readers develop a plan of action by offering: • Insight into brain chemistry and addiction • Real-life ideas for encouraging healthy choices • Guidance in how to help without enabling • The connection between depression, ADD, and trauma Stoop and Arterburn have helped thousands of people around the country understand chemical addiction and how to love someone well in the midst of this gripping disease.

Do you love an addict or an alcoholic? Loving an addict is one of the most painful and traumatic life journeys that any sober-minded person can experience. Feelings of betrayal, powerlessness, anger, fear, desperation and raw grief are an ever constant companion. The person you love disappears as they chase their addiction. People who love an addict inadvertently get drawn in by the addict and their lives begin to revolve around the dysfunctional hell that the addict's life is. According to the World Drug Report, approximately 247million people worldwide were in active addiction during 2016. Statistics on alcohol abuse are not as easily determined because alcohol is a socially accepted drug. It is estimated that 1 in every 12 adults suffer from alcohol abuse and dependence. Alcohol is a drug. There is very little that separates the emotional pain and dysfunction that saturates your life whether you love an alcoholic or a drug addict. Both substances are mind-altering, both substances reprogram the human brain, both substances render the addict powerless over their addiction. The only person who can break an addict's addiction is the addict. No one can convince, force, coerce or threaten an addict to seek professional help. No one can love an addict into sobriety either. This book is about understanding and helping your loved one, and also about helping yourself. You can never 'learn' to live with an addict. You either come to accept the hard truth or you separate yourself from the addict. Separation can sometimes drive an addict to seek professional help, but it's no guarantee. Sometimes you have to just let go. This book will explain how your addict thinks; however, understanding alone does not mean that you can protect them and yourself. You also need the psychological reediness to act and face certain outcomes. Let me show you how.

This practical guide helps spouses to understand what drives sexual addiction and how to find healing after betrayal. When Jason Martinkus confessed his infidelity to his wife, Shelley, she wasn’t sure she could ever trust him again. Together they began a difficult but redemptive journey of understanding sexual addiction. In this book, Jason and Shelley join Stephen Arterburn to address the following: What sexual addiction is and how to know if someone is addicted How to understand the roller coaster of post betrayal emotions Guidance in developing boundaries What to do if a spouse doesn’t want to recover This is a valuable resource for anyone who loves someone addicted to sex or pornography.

This book is for anyone who thought they were good friends with someone, only to be yelled at unexpectedly, for anyone who has a coworker who twists others’ words, or for anyone who has a spouse who is violent and accusatory. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a mental illness that can make loved ones feel as if it is their fault. Stephen Arterburn and Dr. Robert Wise wants readers to know it’s not their fault and there is hope. In this book, they offer readers advice on how to relate to people with BPD at home, work, and church. Readers don’t need to feel alone any longer. Help is on the way.

Recovering addicts are faced with many challenges, and these challenges can often extend to their romantic partners. During the recovery period, couples often struggle with overcoming feelings of betrayal and frustration, and may have a hard time rebuilding trust and closeness. While there are many resources available to recovering addicts, there are limited resources for the people who love them. In Loving Someone in Recovery, therapist Beverly Berg offers powerful tools for the partners of recovering addicts. Based in mindfulness, attachment theory, and neurobiology, this book will help readers sustain emotional stability in their relationships, increase effective communication, establish boundaries, and take real steps toward reigniting intimacy. The material in this book is drawn from the author’s successful Conscious Couples Recovery Workshop. With more than 25 years in the field, she has developed a unique set of exercises that address the issues faced by couples in recovery. This book addresses the roles that both partners play in recovery, and aims to help readers develop a new appreciation for one another and improve self-confidence and acceptance. The road to recovery is never an easy one, but by building a strong support system, the chances of success are exponentially greater. For more information on Berg’s work, visit consciouscouplesrecovery.com

If someone you love is depressed, you probably feel confused, angry, and helpless. This encouraging guide will help you hold on to hope while broadening your understanding of depression and its treatment. Dr. Brenda Hunter has been a caregiver for someone with depression and has also struggled with depression herself. With empathy, real-life stories, and clinical expertise, Brenda teams up with Stephen Arterburn to explore: The multiple causes of depression How men and women react to depression differently The influence of social media and technology on depression The unique challenges of depression in adolescence How to take care of yourself while caring for someone who is depressed Brenda and Steve know from personal experience that light can overcome the darkness of depression. You can get back the person you love. Learn how to care for both of you in this hope-filled book.

A collection of daily readings to inspire and comfort individuals whose loved ones suffer from drug or alcohol addiction.

If you live or work with someone who has narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), you probably often feel put down. You feel ashamed of your own needs. Your relationship may feel so out of control that you wonder if you’ve lost your sanity. As a clinical psychotherapist for nearly thirty years, Patricia Kuhlman has worked with many people who have been victimized by another’s NPD. She joins Stephen Arterburn to explore: Practical tools to break the cycle of pain and find healing What narcissism is and how people become narcissists The most current research about NPD How to define, express, and establish personal boundaries A how-to, self-care program including sample responses to narcissistic behaviors Most importantly, Kuhlman offers validation, understanding, and encouragement. Being in relationship with a narcissist can be lonely and confusing. Find stability and truth in this practical guide.

Are you feeling exasperated and helpless about your family member's addiction? Are you at your wit's end, having tried everything you can think of to make them stop? If someone you love is engaging in addictive behaviors such as alcohol and drug misuse, eating disorders, smoking, gambling, Internet addiction, sex addiction, compulsive overspending, or relationship addiction, you are undoubtedly experiencing unpredictability in your relationship. Some of the most common emotions you will experience include: - Guilt and shame - Anger and anxiety - Confusion and powerlessness Whether the addict in your life is your spouse, partner, parent, child, friend, or colleague, the key to changing this reality for yourself lies in shifting your focus from your loved one's addiction to you own self-care. This book presents a dramatically fresh approach to help you get off the roller-coaster chaos of addiction, maintain your own sanity and serenity, and live your best life.

Addictive behaviors beg for an informed explanation to guide patients, families, students, and clinicians through the maddening and often incomprehensible nature of the addictions. Too often addiction is perceived to be merely a moral weakness or purely a brain disease, ignoring the deep personal pain that can permeate the lives of the addicted. But taking an honest look at the underlying emotional or mental issues can more clearly illuminate not only the causes of the addiction, but also the cure. Doctors Edward J. Khantzian and Mark J. Albanese, leading researchers in the field of addiction, see addictions primarily as a kind of self medication—a self medication that can temporarily soothe anxiety or pain, but that ultimately wreaks havoc on the lives and health of both the addicted and their loved ones. With practical advice, compelling case studies, and nuanced theory drawn from their years in clinical practice, Doctors Khantzian and Albanese look at the core reasons behind many addictions and provide a pathway to hope. Understanding Addiction as Self Medication looks at a range of addictions, including alcohol and substance abuse, and clearly explains how to understand other addictive behaviors through the lens of the Self Medication Hypothesis. This book provides a much-needed guide to both understanding addictions and working towards healing.